Reality-show winner alleges blackmail by former flame

Riled over playing second fiddle, a businessman from Kandivli allegedly harassed, blackmailed and taunted a former girlfriend, who was a winner in a reality television show, for breaking up with him and marrying someone else.

According to the statement recorded by the police on Saturday, Pinky (name changed) was in a relationship with Raju Naik a year ago, but met and married another businessman in Kandivli after emerging a winner in a reality show. Pinky complained to the Additional Commissioner of Police (North region) after she stumbled upon explicit pictures and videos of her on the Internet. She registered a complaint against her alleged tormentor at the Samta Nagar police station on Saturday, after the Addl CP directed her to the station.

After she got married, Naik began harassing her to leave her husband and marry him instead. He then allegedly began plotting against the victim’s husband and even attempted to cause the businessman to suffer losses. Naik convinced an employee of the victim’s husband to quit his job and join him instead in a bid to scuttle his competitor’s future.

According to the victim, her husband’s former employee identified as Mahesh Patel, and Naik spoiled many deals, but did not succeed in doing much damage. When all else failed, Naik began blackmailing the victim and threatening to post videos and pictures of them getting intimate on the Internet, if she did not pay him Rs 2 lakh. The victim further said a friend informed her around 15 days ago that there were photographs and videos of herself skimpily clad and nude posted on the Internet. She alleges that Naik and Patel had posted the photos a month ago.

Pinky then wrote a letter to Addl CP Sunil Paraskar informing him of the matter. “Since all the photos and videos have been deleted from the website, we do not have any proof. However, we have registered a case against Naik and Patel for blackmailing the victim and threatening to post her nude photos on the Internet,” said an officer from Samta Nagar police station.

The police have also asked for help from the Cyber Crime Cell to retrieve the deleted data so that they can book the duo under relevant sections of the IT Act. When officials of the Samta Nagar police station were dispatched to Naik’s residence to arrest him, he was untraceable. After a search at Patel’s residents yielded no results, the duo were declared as absconding.